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States face new tornado forecast135 tornadoes recorded since Sunday
CARROLLTON, Georgia (CNN) -- Severe thunderstorms rumbled across central Alabama and northern Georgia Wednesday night, uprooting trees, downing power lines and swamping areas already deluged by three straight days of heavy rains. And while the Southeast braced for another night of powerful storms, forecasters warned that conditions were ripe for Kansas, Missouri and Arkansas to be hit by more tornadoes Thursday. Those states were heavily damaged earlier this week in one of the most intense outbreaks of tornadoes in 53 years of record-keeping. Officials have recorded 135 tornadoes for the week since Sunday. More than 40 people have been killed in the non-stop storms. In Alabama and Georgia late Wednesday, there were no reports of major damage, but authorities warned residents to stay inside and not drive down flooded roads. "It's extremely dangerous," said Buzz Weiss, a spokesman for the Georgia Emergency Management Agency. He added there was a "lot of widespread localized flooding" from the rains. In Talladega County, in eastern Alabama, a tornado touched down near the Talladega Superspeedway, but did not hit the famed race track. Sheriff Jerry Studdard said they had "some trees blown down" and "a lot of power lines down," but the county escaped major damage. In Chattanooga, Tennessee, authorities there were battling to keep the Tennessee River from rising any further. The river has already reached its highest levels in 30 years, flooding a riverside park that has been a hallmark of the city's renovations in recent years. The Tennessee Valley Authority estimated as much as $7 million worth of damage so far in the area. Three-hundred structures, including dozens of homes, have been affected, the TVA said. The area received as much as eight inches in less than a day, swelling the creeks and tributaries that feed into the Tennessee river. A hospital in the community of East Ridge, Tennessee, near the Georgia border, was "surrounded 360 degrees by water," said Don Allen, the director of emergency services in Hamilton County. Ambulances can no longer get to the hospital, and authorities have routed any emergencies there to other medical facilities. In the Midwest, forecasters said eastern Kansas, western Missouri and northern Arkansas should brace for the likelihood of more tornadoes Thursday as a low-pressure system moves up from the southwest, mixing a lot of heat and moisture in the atmosphere. "If you're in that area, stay tuned," said Jeff Evans, lead forecaster with the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center. If the forecasts pan out, it would add to what has already been one of the busiest tornado weeks on record. Missouri junior high collapsesA powerful storm hit the town of De Soto, Missouri, Tuesday night, causing part of a junior high school to collapse, bringing down trees and power lines and creating a flood of water down Main Street, officials and residents said. (Full story) No injuries or deaths were reported after the storm, and the town of 6,400 missed a second storm predicted to hit the area around midnight. The town's residents have now experienced four twisters in the past four years. Heavy rains and storms were not confined to the lower Midwest and the Southeast, however. Flooding in Holly Township, Michigan, about 50 miles northwest of Detroit, caused a 22-car freight train to derail, and several railcars were on their sides, Michigan state police reported Wednesday. The CSX train was carrying auto parts and completed vehicles. Some cars carrying propane stayed on the rails. The only environmental cleanup involved diesel fuel. A conductor and an engineer were treated for minor injuries.
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